Never Forget
by Ashkash
Summary: It was now ten thirty in the morning and the wedding would be at eleven. Bruce Wayne & Chloe, Chloe & Bart, Lois & Clark, set in the Adore universe. Batman Begins & Smallville crossover


Title: **_Never Forget_**, by Laura and Ash

Spoilers: Adore universe mainly, and Smallville. However, a date or year isn't going to be specified in this fic.

Rating: K, I think.

Pairings: Bruce/Chloe, Chloe/Bart, Lois/Clark.

Disclaimer: Smallville, Batman, Batman Begins, and other DC characters are not mine.

Crossover: Smallville/Batman Begins. Another one shot scene set in the Adore universe, that may - and I stress - may or may not be a part of the actual story.

* * *

_**Never Forget**_

**New York**

It was now ten-thirty in the morning and the wedding would be at eleven.

"How's he doing?" Chloe asked Clark's reflection in the mirror.

Kent, feeling like he should be helping but knowing he would be eaten alive by a shark-looking Lois and a very edgy Chloe, placed his hands in his trouser pockets and smiled at his blonde old friend. "Working the crowd, with Bart's help," he replied. "We have a lot of anxious people out there." She narrowed her eyes at him, and he nervously fixed his dressy dark blue tie and cleared his throat. "B-But I'm sure he's nervous… very nervous… inside."

Clark also caught Lois smirking as she busied herself with Chloe. One would wonder why a person of the male species – especially Clark Kent - was hanging around in the bride-to-be's waiting room while she was getting dressed. However, Chloe was already in her wedding dress, and part of his reason for being there was to pass on valuable intelligence from the gathering in the main hall.

Indeed, it was the day of Chloe Sullivan's wedding – a fact repeating in her mind like a song track set on replay, or like a broken record, but she avoided the latter description because she needed to think happy thoughts here. Memories were also part of that repeating track and her emotions were expectantly running high. She had said that she wouldn't allow herself to be cliché and second-guess herself, because she had no doubts. Yet, in the early hours of the morning, she had the thought of calling it off after breaking down and crying, because the thought of her father not giving her away was unbearable.

She wished he were here. Plus, stupid husband-to-be wasn't there in the morning to comfort her because he had to leave very early thinking he had forgotten something for the ceremony. She had forgiven him later though, but she hadn't told him yet because they hadn't seen each other for the day. Clark had heard her while out as Superman and had come to her rescue, as a shoulder to cry on. While planning the wedding she had asked him to give her away. She would never forget the look on his face, how silent he had gotten for close to a minute. However, soon he had said that he would do her father proud.

Thinking of her friendly alien she looked at his reflection again, and noticed his smile. "What are you so obnoxiously happy about?" she demanded with a glare. The smile wouldn't go away. Where was Lex when you needed him? Wait, scratch that.

"I'm thinking about your prom dress," he finally replied, which made Chloe and Lois pause.

"How can you possibly think of… of… _that_?" Lois said, shaking her head at her husband. "This is way better. Shame on you, Smallville."

Clark rolled his eyes, but was still smiling. "I'm just saying that it's great to see you like this."

Irritably puffing curled face-framing locks of hair out of her eyes, Lois finished her final touches on Chloe's make-up. Stepping back, she swatted at the tea length pleats of her blue satin maid of honour dress, tugged at the tails of the decorative chiffon cowl that draped across her bodice before falling down her back, stopped to admire her stiletto shoes, and once again returned her attention to her cousin. She smiled proudly, which made Chloe a little nervous. "Indeed," she said.

Kent then directed a look at his wife. "It's amazing what a wedding dress can do," he said with a smirk.

Lois narrowed her eyes, and actually wished Wonder Woman was here to smack him so that it would hurt. "So, you're saying that this wedding dress masks my ogre qualities," Chloe said in offence, putting her hands on her hips and glaring at him. "Thanks, Clark. You've been hanging around Bruce too long."

Clark was flustered. "I didn't mean it like…" His apology was cut short when the cousins began laughing at him.

"There's no changing that farm boy," Lois said, which made Clark sulk.

"I'm going to check on Bart," he said, after a brief pause. "Can't keep him out there too long." The glowering, but amused, Clark then made a show of leaving.

Lois and Chloe shared a smile, and the blonde turned back to the mirror. Lane looked at the anxious Chloe and quickly placed a comforting hand on her arm. "Okay?"

Chloe let out a small nervous laugh. "Yeah!" she said, and after looking herself over she smiled. "Yeah."

"No doubts?"

"No doubts. My feet are cold though." Lois laughed, and Chloe turned to her with a quizzical look. "How bout you?" Lane frowned. "With Clark… Did you ever…? You know… because of…"

Lois smiled in understanding and softly squeezed her cousin's arm. "I married Clark, not Superman. And, no." Chloe smiled and nodded in understanding. "I'm gonna check on some things. We'll be back."

"Okay."

Chloe breathed in nervously, which made Lois grin. "You'll be fine, and you'll knock the stupid out of him."

Chloe laughed and Lois left, leaving the blonde staring at herself in the mirror. She slowly raised her arms out from her dress and admired the soft sheer lace of her sleeves. They rested delicately off her shoulders before clinging to her arms and flaring out from her forearms in fanciful poet sleeves. Slowly, she spun once for the mirror. The a-line flowed freely and the chiffon swished as it twisted around her. The clear stones of her tiara and necklace glittered as the light refracted off silver. Giving her reflection another once-over, Chloe smoothed out the layers of the dress as they hung from her empire waistline, manicured fingers brushing over swirls of embroidery and crystal beads, and re-arranged her brush train back to its former perfection.

No crying… No crying… It would ruin the makeup… The makeup was water-proof… Still, no crying… No crying. She closed her eyes, breathed in, and then slowly let the air out. She opened her eyes and imagined her husband-to-be next to her. "Mrs. B -" The insufferable knocking broke the image. "What?" she demanded, uncharacteristically vehement.

"Umm, Chloe, sorry…" The barely audible sound was Bart. She could recognise it anywhere, and at different levels of volume. "The bathroom is backed up. Do you have one in there?"

Chloe sighed in frustration. "Can't you just run to another one somewhere else? Besides, it's a lady's bathroom." Nothing against Bart, but she just wanted to be alone until the last minute. When she didn't hear him reply, she sighed again. Either he was gone or he was staring at the door and blinking. "All right! Come in!"

The door slowly opened and revealed a very snazzy-dressed Bart. He was wearing the same dark blue suit as Clark, but he had worn a scarlet tie instead. On another day she might have commented on it, and also challenge the smile. "I couldn't wait," he said. Chloe rolled her eyes. She was reminded of the typical scenes in some movies where the groom get an early look at the bride, which was bad luck. Of course, Bart wasn't the groom.

"Wow. I believe… Chloe-licous comes to mind," Bart continued. His smirk was reminiscent of their first meeting back in Smallville. She narrowed contemptuous eyes at him, and damned well tried to keep her smile back. The smirk on his face was soon replaced by a look on desperation. "Now, I really can't wait," he said. Realising what he meant she pointed in the direction of the bathroom, and he walked slowly to it. "Don't want to ruin anything," he said with a nervous smile, explaining why he didn't run to the bathroom.

"It better not be smelly," she warned him. "I can only use so much perfume!"

"Wouldn't that be funny?" Bart shouted back. "Breaking news: Groom Knocked Out By Bride's Perfume."

"Shut up!"

Their banter was interrupted by another knock on the door. What now? "Come in," Chloe said. From where the mirror was positioned, she could see the door behind her. It opened and she closed her eyes when she saw who it was. After a moment of hoping it wasn't him she opened them again, but it wasn't a figment of her imagination. "What is this? A League meeting?" she joked, showing a serious face.

Her visitor smiled. "I'm sure I would have gotten that memo," he replied in his familiar teasing tone.

"I'm surprised you came, Bruce." Why was Bruce in her waiting room?

Wayne looked a little offended. "You invited me. How can I not come to your wedding? I already missed one."

She remembered. Though he had been invited, Bruce hadn't attended Clark and Lois's wedding. It wasn't his fault. He had… disappeared. She ignored the lump in her throat brought on by that memory and covered with a smile. She did expect Bruce to come to her wedding, but now that he was here she couldn't avoid teasing him. "Well, it was either you or Lex," she said with laughter in her eyes. "But then I remembered Lex and Goldilocks had heated history. ... I didn't want that at my wedding. Pete and Lana are also here." All good reasons, but the _real_ reason was she just didn't want Lex Luthor at her wedding. She had heard Bart using 'Goldilocks' as a nickname for Oliver Queen, and, and she hadn't stopped using it when she wanted to rib the Mayor of Star City.

Bruce humoured her with the smile that would make women drool all over him, but Chloe tried to avoid his reflection. She didn't even turn around. She was avoiding him because of how they both looked in the mirror; how they were positioned. She blinked, and try as she may, she still saw it. It was night; she was in her old apartment in Gotham City; she was in her bedroom; she was looking at herself in the mirror; her night gown was open, revealing parts of her skin, and Batman was standing behind her. She remembered what it felt like afterwards. Chloe quickly shook her head and broke the image.

"What are you doing back here anyway?" she inquired.

Bruce placed his hands in his trouser pockets. His suits always complimented his features, and no doubt he would get the most attention after bride and groom left. To match the colours of the wedding, Bruce was wearing Clark's colours, but his tie looked blacker than dark blue. It still matched. "I just wanted to see you, before…" he said, before breaking off to continue observing her.

Avoiding the residual shudder, Chloe smiled. She had already noticed that he hadn't made an effort to move closer, and was thankful that he didn't. On another day she would hug him, but not now, not on this day. He didn't even move from the spot; no shuffling around either.

"It's a shame your father isn't here to see you," he continued. "You look wonderful."

She smiled. "I guess, we all wish our fathers were here… and our mothers." She took a chance and looked at his reflection, where she saw that his demeanour had changed. She didn't need to see the mask to see the face of Batman. "I'm sorry," she quickly said.

Bruce smiled to reassure her. "No, you don't have to apologise."

And there it was - the uncomfortable silence she had been dreading ever since he entered the room. Bruce was still smiling, which soon made her annoyingly return it. She finally turned around. "Thank you for coming," she said. "I know your life is…"

He interrupted her. "Wouldn't miss it. Anyway, I think I should give you some time to yourself. I'll be outside."

Was he the one doing the avoiding now? For some reason, Chloe expected something else. However, she was thankful that the 'something-else', whatever that may have been, didn't happen. She soon grinned and distracted herself from the thought. "I'm looking forward to see Alfred out of his usual work clothes."

He smirked. "I took him shopping."

Chloe laughed. The silence came again as their smiling faces looked at each other, but this time it was much more comfortable. She hadn't seen him for months, and she only realised it when she saw him. They had their lives to live, and Bruce always had his hands full with Gotham. Giving her one last look Bruce left, and Chloe sighed in relief. However, she didn't have time to think about what had just happened because, as if on cue, Bart came out of the bathroom. "Chloe, what's with that sprinkler-thingy masquerading as a toilet bowl?" he inquired, and Chloe rolled her eyes. She could see a confused Bart playing with it.

When his quizzical face met her mischievous one he frowned. "Do you really wanna know?" she dared.

Bart blinked. "Do I?" Chloe laughed at the clueless Allen, and Bart quickly changed the subject. "So, looks like in ten minutes I'll be calling you Mrs. Chloe Stevens."

"No, you won't," she replied with a raised left eyebrow.

Bart grinned. "No, I won't." He then moved forward and placed his hands on her shoulders. Chloe looked at each hand before showing him the same arched eyebrow. "Danny's one lucky son-of-a-gun." She rolled her eyes at him. "See ya!" He then left.

Chloe turned back to the mirror and set her mind back on the wedding. She wasn't going to let anything affect her this day.

"Mrs. Benjamin Daniel Stevens," she said to her reflection.

She smiled.

* * *

After the wedding, the toasts, Clark's bumbling tribute, Bart recounting embarrassing moments between him and Chloe, the dancing, and Ben leaving with Chloe in a white limo, Bruce Wayne was sitting on the left side of the back seat of his car, on his way back to the airport. He hadn't said anything at Chloe's reception because he didn't want her to feel uncomfortable. Alfred briefly glanced at the rear-view mirror and saw a familiar image. Bruce was staring to the outside with the left side of his face propped by his left fist, and he was thinking deeply. 

"Didn't Chloe look absolutely stunning, Master Bruce?" Alfred said.

Bruce didn't answer.

"They're a good match."

Bruce didn't answer.

"It was a wonderful wedding," the Englishman continued.

Bruce didn't answer.

"I'm sure she'll enjoy her gifts."

Bruce didn't answer.

He had made a promise on the grave of his parents to rid Gotham City of the scum. He had shared his dread with them to accomplish that goal by becoming a bat - a monster in the night. But, had he become the very thing that all monsters become…

… Alone…?

* * *

**A/N**: The last couple of lines of Bruce's thoughts were lifted from **Batman: Hush**. Words written by Jeph Loeb. Yes, I've added to these wedding fics. :) My prompt for this was **Happy, but Sad**. Anyone who has read **Fractured** should get this more, and what I was trying to do. Special thanks also go to Elizabeth, who also did some research for me. And yes, I didn't say Chloe/other because it would have ruined what I wanted to accomplish in this. Hope it was okay. Thanks for reading. 


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